30 December 2006

After 2 days in Las Vegas, it was time to go on a 6 hour drive to san diego! No problems with gas fill ups and stuff this time!

Got there, everything was good. San Diego weather is amazing! It was Sunny with a nice cool breeze. Its like summer in Boston! If you're planning a visit and looking for things to shop in San Diego, try San Diego shopping and Travel Guide at DiscoverSD.com for the inside info on fun, excitement, and accommodations.

Anyway, our first stop in San Diego was sea world - For those that don't know it, Sea World is a big theme park with dolphin and killer whale shows, sea animals, birds etc:

Never seen so much pink in my life!

One of the dolphin and killer whale shows:

Unfortunately I couldn't focus much during this show... I had to watch out on what happened to be exactly on top of where I was sitting..

I had to watch out for them during the whole show, incase any of them felt like they needed to "let go". Lets just say there were a few close calls!

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Anyhow, onto some more of the shows:

By the way, if you ever do pass by Sea World, DO NOT MISS THIS! They have this little waffle cake shop. Try their waffle cake strawberry and ice cream thing. Hands down best desert i've ever tried in my life!

Yummy! After Sea World, there was also the San Diego Zoo; probably one of the biggest in the area?

The place is pretty big; you can get lost here - make sure you have a map with you!

Of course, San Diego is also known for its beaches! Unfortunately 50 and 60 degree weather is considered cold for the locals, so there wasn't much going on at the beach. I guess I should visit sometime during the summer

Doing my Baywatch Lifeguard impression:

Well, can't stay in San Diego for ever! Time to head back to Los Angeles and pass by Disneyland before I leave California, so took to the road...

27 December 2006

After a few days in Los Angeles, got on the road to go to Las Vegas. As far as most people have told me, its approximately a five hour drive from west LA, so took off in the morning around 10:00am.

Going through LA you have stops all over the place, but sooner or later you find yourself driving in the middle of the Mojave Desert with nothing around. Speaking of which, did people run out of names for the roads?

Death Valley.. Hmm.. Not looking good here..

Not many stops on the way to Las Vegas. There are about two major stops in the middle of the desert; the first is Barstow, and another 60 miles down the empty desert there is a little town called Baker. Also happens to be home to the largest thermometer in the world (what? why?). And since I was low on gas on the way, decided to stop in Baker to fill up, get some food, and see this thermometer:

Its not THAT big is it? Well, anyway, got to see the thermometer, grabbed some food from the local Burger King and went on my way. Its another 120 miles approx to Vegas with pretty much no stops on the way. After about half an hour of driving I realized I forgot something.

Oh great. I forgot to fill up at Baker. Now my car is a few minutes away from stopping with nothing in sight but a long empty freeway:

Shoot... After praying for a few minutes, YES THERE IT IS! A gas station!

Sure it was a run down little place, and they did charge $4.5 a gallon (crazy), but hey, I guess they own this freeway, so they can pretty much charge whatever they want. Anyway, filled up and went on my way!

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And finally reached Vegas! Total driving time approx 4 and a half hours (total with all stops, getting food, taking photos of exceptionally large thermometers, arguing with gas station attendants about why they charge so much per gallon, etc).

Now for those that don't know Las Vegas, the main attraction of Vegas is the hotels. Of course there is the option of gambling and casinos, but I don't gamble so that wasn't a big attraction to me. Each of the big hotels has its own theme; for example, New York New York Hotel from the outside looks like a view from NY city, or the Luxor Hotel looks like something from Egypt:

The famous Ceasars Palace

And the theme follows on the inside - each hotel looks crazy from the inside, like a full city following the theme; See this photo of the Venetian Hotel. This hotel is a replica of Venice, it has a river flowing through the hotel with Gondoliers (those Venice boats), and theres a sky on top of you as you walk. This photo was taken at night by the way - see the sky:

But of course Las Vegas really comes alive at night. Here are a few shots from around the city to show you what it looks like:

View of the Las Vegas Strip from my hotel room (Aladdin Hotel):

The fountains at the Bellagio:

Vegas Baby! (A good example of the kind of thing that should stay in Vegas)

20 December 2006

Arrived to LA evening of the 17th, and Los Angeles Airport seems pretty lively. All sorts of people from all over the world seem to be here. Already had a reservation for a rental car, so went to pick it up. Got a cool looking Dodge Calibur. Anyhow, drove around for a while trying to figure out how the roads in California work, but as soon as I figured that out it was easy to find the hotel.

California looks good; lots of restaurants and motels around, people cruising around with the music up, classy cars, clubs and everything else all over the place (note that I was driving near Sunset and Hollywood boulevards). Didn't really get to see much since I was pretty tired and got to the hotel quickly to make way for a long day tommorow!

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December 18th

Woke up early ready to go to a bunch of places; first stop would be to Warner Bros studios for their VIP studio tour. Driving around LA is its own experience; shops, restaurants and scenery everywhere, and the best thing about it? It's nice and sunny! (especially considering i'm coming from somewhere cold like Boston)

There are a bunch of tours of Studio's around Hollywood, but Warner Bros is pretty much the best one from what i've heard. The tour is pretty damn good; you see where some of the best movies and tv shows have been filmed, and you can learn some amazing movie tricks, from how they make sets, to things they use for props etc. Theres stuff for everyone, especially if you're a fan of TV shows like Friends, West Wing, Gilmore Girls, etc

Here are some examples; this ladder was the scene in the movie Spiderman; remember the upside down kiss? Of course the place looks a little different, but that's because everything is removable. The buildings aren't real buildings either; as soon as you go inside the doors there's nothing there. And all street fixtures (lamps, trees etc) are easily removable and replacable at any time:

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Any ER fans? Here is the entrance to the hospital. And some fake garbage; nothing smelly here! They're pretty clean actually, its just made to look like that on TV.

We also got to witness a little bit of the filming of Oceans 13! Unfortunately, we weren't allowed to take any photos (@$#!%), but hey, it was great just to see it. There are a LOT of things and photos to post but i'll just put a few here; Here's the batmobile from the last batman movie:

Probably the highlight of the tour! Central Perk from Friends! Yep, I was actually there! Now that's something...

Went to Hollywood Blvd afterwards, which is home to the famous Mann's Chinese Theatre (a new cinema theatre where the biggest movie premiers are hosted), the Hollywood Wax Museum, Ripley's Believe it or Not, the Star Walk, the Academy Awards, as well as a bunch of other things. If you ever pass by here, make sure you eat at Hamlet's, right across from the Chinese Theatre, for the best top grade burgers and sandwiches! Also great for high class shopping in this newly renovated area of Hollywood:

And a visit to Universal Studios:

Brings back any memories? Think Fast & Furious

Remember the Back to The Future car?

Of course, no trip to hollywood is complete without visiting the HOLLYWOOD sign!

But as much as I want, I can't spend all my time in Los Angeles! Next, off to Vegas! CLICK HERE for the story!